Bales’ famous ride took place in the summer of 1929 and was featured in many national publications, as well as the Enthusiast™ magazine. In each of the towns she passed through, Bales would meet local dignitaries and Harley-Davidson dealers, most of whom would volunteer to support her on her ride. She even met President Hoover!
In all, she traveled for 78 days and covered nearly 5,000 miles.
Following her famous ride, Bales continued motorcycling, and performed stunt riding at motorcycle races in Tallahassee, Florida. Although she never purchased another motorcycle, Bales stated that her Harley-Davidson experience remained one of the most significant of her life.
in her newsletter article for the Harley Enthusiast, she wrote about the journey, but this bit surprised me;
" I learned something about goggles on this trip, and that is dont trust any but shatterproof glass. A bug broke one of my goggles lens, a fragment of glass getting in my right eye. A Lansing doctor extracted it, but he wouldn’ take a cent "
So the doctor in Lansing treated her for free. Imagine my surprise! Had I been a mechanic I would have tested her clutch for free as well. A 15 point cutie on a 10 point scale.
ReplyDeleteAfter recovering from a brief but serious crush on this woman I settled down and followed the links posted. Coming to the Car Guy post of October 1, 2019 I discovered the telegram Bates sent to her mom on July 29, 1929 at 3:59 PM, stating she had arrived in Milwaukee that morning. She also alluded to “the boat” she had taken from Grand Haven, Michigan. The probability is high that she sailed on one of the Grand Trunk Railroad car ferries operating between Grand Haven and Milwaukee, perhaps the vessel Grand Haven itself. The GTW ferries were equipped with staterooms and routinely carried passengers between Michigan and Wisconsin...even into the 60’s. A relatively small vehicle like a motorcycle could have easily been accommodated. I know that to be a fact because my ex and I crossed the lake with our bike on the Chessie system City of Midland in the early 80’s.
ReplyDeleteFor some reason, she has a different look compared to other women in pictures from that time period. When I first saw this picture, I thought it could be a modern picture of a woman dressed in vintage clothing.
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